Mafia
by KaiAmazonKnightley
Summary: Max: Friend, Daughter, Mafia Leader. Yes. Mafia. But this part of the Mafia is different. With honor. Just intents. Ridding the city of threats, keeping them safe. System balanced precariously, built upon secrets. And when it's revealed that all Max has known about the former leaders is wrong? Will everything come tumbling down, or stay strong? Collaboration with MusicAnonymous.
1. Yes, Mafia

**Yet another story started by a random thought...**

**Anyway, here's the _longer summary:_**

**Max: Friend, Daughter, Mafia Leader. Yes. Mafia. Really a branch. An arm. A dismembered one. This part of the Mafia is... different. With honor, and just intents. Performing anonymous deeds. Carefully planned attacks. Ridding the city of threats, keeping them safe. System balanced delicately, intricately. But built upon secret heaped on secret. What happens when careful prying shows that all Max has believed about the former leaders was wrong? Will everything come tumbling down, or will it stay strong?**

**Fang: Friend, Son, Assassin. Yeah. Assassin. Trained from a young age, along with his two brothers. Though the youngest of the three, he excels, causing jealousy from the eldest brother. He's swift, silent, deadly. But will he follow through with this dastardly plan set before him, especially as he finds out more and more about the target and their life?**

**And I would like to thank MusicAnonymous, a fellow writer and cohort of this lovely story. **

**I know what you're asking. What the mess does cohort even mean? It means... It means... I don't know what it means, or at least how to explain it.. **

**Disclaimer: If I owned Maximum Ride, you think I'd be on fanfiction? Yeah. Thought so.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Max Point of View

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

My hand shoots out of the tangle of blankets heaped on my and slams into the alarm clock.

Sadly, though, it chooses to infuriate me more by falling off of the bedside table. And to continue it's shrieking.

"Ti odio." I mutter in Italian, dragging myself out of the covers. "Stupid little... waking me up..." I grumble, hand reaching blindly.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

"Okay, okay, I get it, I get it! I'm up! Gosh. Pesky little bugger." I yell at the alarm clock. What? You don't yell at inanimate objects too? Oh, well. Guess it's just a me thing.

Who is me, I bet you're asking. You aren't? Well, I sure feel loved. But I'll tell you anyway! My name is Maximu-

Yeah. You're right. Going right out and stating who I am is too cheesy. The only thing I like cheesy is pizza... Okay. In my defense, that sounded a lot better in my head.

My hand finds something oddly resembling a cord and I tug on it, effectively ripping it out of the wall thus shutting my alarm clock off. Ah. Sweet silence. How I love you. From there, I roll out of bed, sighing. Time to start another day. I quickly get into the swing of things, my morning routine moving along swimmingly.

But I have a question. Why swimmingly? Why would they make that a word? I tried using it, and, as you saw above, it just doesn't work. Unless you want to make someone laugh. But that's Iggy's job. Not mine.

Who's Iggy, you ask? I'll tell you later.

Anyway, let's redo that sentence. I quickly get into the swing of things, my morning routine moving along... nicely? No. Can't say that, considering I add, "argue with sister" on my morning schedule. Swiftly? Again, my sister gets in the way of that one. Smoothly? Yeah, that works. Okay, my morning routine went by smoothly. I was sure to avoid the kitchen, knowing that I wasn't allowed in there. Something about the incident of my burning cereal. Don't ask. You really don't want to know.

But, after getting ready(Such as getting dressed and throwing my hair up) I walk into the dining room, grabbing a plate set out for me and piling a random collection of breakfast like foods on it. Ella, my previously mentioned sister, scrunches her nose up upon seeing me stuff food into my mouth, practically inhaling it.

"Something tells me that's unhealthy." She says, delicately balancing some eggs on her fork and bringing it slowly to her mouth.

"High metabolism helps." I answer through the food currently stuffed in my mouth. Ella shudders.

"Would it kill you to swallow before speaking?" She asks.

"Yes." Is my answer as I rise from the table, chugging my glass of milk and picking up my now empty plate to take the dishes to the sink.

"Are you seriously wearing that to school?" Ella asks me incredulously, gesturing to my clothing.

I look down at my dark skinny jeans and loose, off-the-shoulder tan top with a pair of red converse on them over a fitted, long sleeved black shirt. "I think it looks fine."

Ella sighs, exasperated. "Can't I at least do something with that tangle you claim is hair?"

"Hey, I brushed it!" I defend.

"Last week?"

Sometimes when I hear her sarcastic responses, I'm proud considering she learned them from me. Other times, though, I want to rip her head off. I.e. when the sarcasm is directed at me. Like now.

"NO." I was about to tell her that I brushed my hair not ten minutes ago when my youngest sister comes down the stairs.

"Max?" Angel asks sweetly.

"Yes, Ange?" I soften my voice, turning to the thirteen year old.

"Just let Ella fix your hair."

I sigh. Is it really that bad?

In the end, it only took fifteen minutes, which I was relieved about. As Ella turns me around in the chair to face the mirror, a hopeful look crosses her face. I stare at myself in the mirror, at half of my brunette hair down and straitened, ends brushing the bottom of my ribcage. My eyes trail up my hair and to the top of my head, where a black, baggy beanie adorns my head. On the other side of my straitened hair is a long braid tumbling from under the hair. My short bangs sweep to the side, peeking from under the hat as well, covering most of my forehead. I have to admit, it looks pretty good. Not that I'll tell Ella that. Don't want her to think that this will be a daily thing.

"Eh, it's okay." I shrug.

Ella sighs in relief. "I thought you were going to demand me to take it down. I mean, I just thought that this style would go with your clothes, since you refuse to change and all. And I want you to look good because we were out for spring break and... yeah..."

She sure can be a chatterbox sometimes. But you get used to it. After all, I have lived with her for fifteen years. Even though I can't remember it, I miss those two years when I was an only child sometimes.

Anyway, off to school we go. I can now technically drive, but Ella says I'm a terrible driver and opts to take the bus. Something about 'wanting to, you know, _l__ive_."

So, after that comment, she scurries off to the bus, shouting a quick, goodbye over her shoulder.

"Bye, Ells!" I yell after her.

"I was talking to Mom and Angel!" She shouts back.

"Well, I feel loved." I mutter, turning around to go back inside. Upon walking in the door, I see Angel holding out my hoodie.

"I figured you'd want this now that Ella's gone." She explains slyly.

I smile brightly. "Oh, yeah. Sure, she'll yell at me when we're at school, but I don't want to be forced into something even more girly then have to change at school."

"Like usual."

"You'd think she would catch on by now." I chuckle, walking up the stairs on the way to my room. As I do so, I pull my black and red hoodie over my head. If my hair is messed up, who cares?

Well, Ella might, but I certainly don't.

Once in my room, I jam my feet into my high tops and grab my messenger bag. Okay, now we're off to school. After making sure Angel is buckled, I slide behind the wheel. Okay, I lied. We aren't on our way to school... yet. Sadly. I mean... *cough* what? We're actually on our way to pick up my friends Iggy and Gazzy. Boy, are they a handful. They're the same age as me, twins, and major pyros. They would be driving themselves to school, well, Gazzy would, but Gazzy's car suffered terrible injuries in the last bomb show, so it's reduced to bits of twisted metal and rubber. Not exactly drivable.

I know what your asking; why doesn't Iggy have a car? Simple, he can't drive. Why can't he drive? Would you want a blind guy driving? Even if he can cook, make bombs, and never miss a high five(I still find that creepy...) you kind of need to, oh, I don't know, see in order to drive.

If you haven't gleaned from all of that that Iggy's blind, I seriously fear for the future of the human race. Sure, I already do, but, whatever.

Soon enough, I find myself honking the horn rather loudly outside of the Pyro Twin's house. Right after I get done honking to the Jeporady theme song, the door to the house slams open and out walks Iggy, looking rather agitated as he finds his way easily to the car and open the door.

"Are you trying to make my ears bleed?" He asks.

I smile with fake innocence, even though I know he can't see it. 1. it helps me get into character. 2. He claims he can sense it. Creepy, right? "Oh, I just thought it'd help you find the car better."

"Shut up."

Iggy, obviously, is not a morning person. Gazzy, on the other hand...

"Hey, Max! How are you this fine morning?" He asks lightly.

"Shut up and get in the car!" Iggy exclaims.

"Somebody's in a bad mood." Gazzy answers in a sing-song voice, moving my bag, which I had thrown haphazardly into the back, and sitting down beside Angel.

I know that it's Iggy and Gazzy who are related, but Gazzy and Angel look so much alike, it's almost creepy. Sure, Iggy and Gazzy look alike. They both have light hair, blue eyes, pale skin, and are tall, but, then again, Iggy's hair is strawberry blonde, whereas Gazzy's is a honey blonde. Angel has really light blonde hair, but when Gazzy was her age, his hair was the same color. That was three years ago. Iggy has pale ice blue eyes, Gazzy has electric blue eyes. Guess which shade Angel's are. If you guessed electric blue, you are correct. And sure, Gazzy's pale, but he still has a slight tan. Iggy, on the other hand, is pretty much white.

Oh, wow. When did I start comparing Iggy and Gazzy and Angel? Eh, whatever.

"The Mafia's having a meeting tonight, right?" Iggy asks.

"Let's see... yes, it is Tuesday, and yes, it is an odd week of the month. So, yes, we will be meeting tonight at seven. I suppose you'll want me to pick you guys up, right?" I inquire.

"Yup." Gazzy answers from behind me.

No, the Mafia is not some lame club, it really is a Mafia. You know, that gang-like thing mostly in Italy? Yeah. So, a few generations ago, a branch of the Mafia broke away, but never dropped the name. Originally, the branch was a special case one. So, we just... continued being there for all those special things- people, missions, capabilities. We watch over the city, keep gangs and crime out of it. And, ever since I was born, they had pegged me for the next leader. From the time I was five, that's what I was trained for- leading. The last Mafia Leader retired when I was fourteen. I've been leader ever since. Two years, that is. And, not to brag or anything, I've done pretty good.

I'm pulled from my thoughts as I park my car. Since the Middle School is right beside the High School, Angel, the twins, and I part ways.

Time to face the school day.

* * *

**I looked up what cohort means.**

Noun

An ancient Roman military unit, comprising six centuries, equal to one tenth of a legion.A group of people banded together or treated as a group.

**So... Now you know.**

**I hope you guys liked it! **

**May you keep a strong heart and a steady mind, **

**-KaiAmazonKnightley**


	2. Yes, Assassin

**Yay! I finally updated! **

**So, I would like to dedicate this chapter to Release the Panic by Red. By the way, Red is my favorite band. It's epic beastness.  
**

**Anyway, on with the chapter! Wait... have I done a disclaimer for this? Just in case:  
**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride. I own the plot, though. Sorta. MusicAnonymous owns some of it. But, seriously, would I be on fanfiction if I owned Maximum Ride? NO! I mean, sure, when I become a famous author, which will happen, I'll probably _read_ fanfiction. But not write it. Anyway.**

**You have anything to add to this, Anonymous? **

**I do have something to add. **

**I once tried to claim something. That's why I live in a box. Word to the wise: Don't claim something that is not yours. Those lawyers sure didn't seem to like me... -A**

**Okay, _Now_ on with the chapter.**

* * *

Fang Point of View

I awaken to the sound of my door being quietly pushed open. I keep my eyes closed, breathing even, giving no sign that I woke. Surprise is a great ally.

I feel a hand clamp down on my mouth, but I'm ready for it. Gripping their arm tightly, I jump up and twist the intruders arm behind their back. As I near the point where their arm would pop out of it's socket, I take in the shaggy black hair, olive skin tone, the fact that he's slightly taller than me, and stop, still gripping his arm.

"Parlay, parlay, parlay, seriously, Fang, parlay!" He exclaims.

"What are you, pirate?" I ask, irritated.

"It's French, thank you very much!"

"We aren't French." I point out, releasing his arm.

My older brother, the younger of the twins, turns around, using his other hand to rub his shoulder. "Worked, though."

I raise an eyebrow. "Do you want me to take you to Father? Considering he would be counted as 'captain.'"

Shadow thinks about it for a second, then shakes his head. "Not really."

"Thought so. Now get out."

"Moody." Shadow mutters, rolling his bright blue eyes, but complies.

I shut my door behind him and sigh, rubbing my eyes. Standing from my leaning position on the door, I begin my morning routine. Get dressed, eat, watch Shadow argue with Scythe about _something_, brush teeth, brush hair, make sure homework is done and in bag, and head downstairs. Why downstairs? You'll find out soon enough.

As I make my way down the stairs, I pass the clock. 6:30. I note that I have an hour until we leave for school. Why do we have a clock in the middle of the stairwell? Simple. Because, well... because... 'cause... I don't know. All I know is that Mom is adamant on it being there. Don't ask.

And what should my eyes see as I reach the bottom of the stairs? My father taking to Scythe quietly. Yeah, it's anti climactic. Get over it. My eldest brother nods, giving his opinion every few seconds, black hair that my brothers and I possess falling into his emerald green eyes. Really, our eye color is the only way to tell us apart. We're all around the same height, Scythe, Shadow, and I. We have the same build; lean with broad shoulders. We all have varying lengths of black hair that frames angled jaws and sharp features. The biggest difference in our looks would be the shape and color of our eyes. Scythe with his green eyes, Shadow and his blue eyes, me with my black ones.

Our personalities are different, though. I'm quiet and rarely talk, but, then again, all of us are quiet. But I over think things, whereas Scythe and Shadow are more willing to take risks. Shadow talks the most out of the three of us, always cracking jokes, laughing. I'm the calm, collected, serious one. Shadow is the (relatively) happy, joking, rarely serious one. Scythe's the cocky, arrogant one of the three of us.

Now that I've given you (sort of) lengthy descriptions of my brothers and I, let's continue.

My father looks up at me and beckons me over with a curt nod of his head.

I don't even bother to look at the rest of the room. I know that there are multiple weapons hanging on the entire wall behind me and the wall to my right. I know that it mainly consists of blades. I know that to my left are targets lined up perfectly, ranging from very small to very large, hanging from the ceiling and sitting on the floor. I know that there are doors leading to seemingly random places to train all around.

I also know that you're probably wondering why there is all of... _this_. The answer is simple. To me, at least. It's what I grew up with. Go to normal school, go home and train for an hour, go to CHAOS, which, contrary to the name, is actually very orderly and strict. Very uniform. Very quiet. It's what we learn in CHAOS, though. We learn to fight. We learn to plan attacks. We learn to control our emotions. We learn to take orders. We learn to break into anywhere and anything. We learn to go under cover. We learn to spy.

We learn to kill.

Yes. You read correctly. At the Creek Haven Academy Of Silence, assassins are being trained. Creek Haven being the name of our humble town. Silence standing for SILENCE, our motto, of sorts. Silent In Life; Escape Never; Commit Eternally. I would go over the deeper meaning to all that, but I have to keep some mystery, don't I?

Not really. I'd, quite honestly, just rather not go into that at the moment.

My Father is the head of weapons training at CHAOS. Mother is the head of under-cover missions at CHAOS. It's safe to say my siblings and I never had much hope of being, you know, normal. Ever since I remember, this is what I've known. And, not to brag, just stating facts, I just happen to excel in most areas. Except for monologuing. I've never been one to talk much.

I'm kidding. We don't learn how to come up with a monologue on the spot. That's stupid.

Anyway.

I stand in front of my Father, looking up slightly due to his height. All of us are tall, the twins both around 6'2, Father 6'3, and me 6'1. He hands me a piece of paper and a pencil. "Figure it out." Is all he says before turning to Shadow, who had just walked in.

I look down at the piece of paper, wondering which it would be for today.

Would you look at that. On the plain white paper is, written neatly, a scenario. I make my way to one of the corners of the room, then stop to read it.

_You look to see your next target through the skylight. You then look at the blueprints of the mansion, rechecking your plan. _

Below this is a thought up map of some building and a boat load of random facts about it.

_You notice that some of it is wrong. This throws a problem into your plan. The west wing is much more heavily guarded than you previously thought. You quickly add the changes to the blueprint. How do you get around it?_

I almost smile at the simplicity of this one. It's all just a puzzle. A maze. I happen to be very good at conundrums. I quickly form a plan in my mind, how exactly to get through every single obstacle given. I use the pencil to show the new plan. Upon finishing, I stand and make my way back to Father, who is coaching Shadow in archery. Silently, I hand the paper to him, then walk back upstairs.

"I can't split an arrow with another arrow! It is physically impossible!" I chuckle slightly Shadow's exclamation.

"Theoretically." Scythe answers. "You meant, _theoretically_ impossible. Ever heard of Robin Hood?"

"Robin Hood wasn't real!" Shadow's answer is the last thing I hear before closing the door at the top of the stairs.

My mother's laugh reaches me. "Scythe and Shadow at it again?" She asks lightly.

"When are they not?" I ask rhetorically.

She laughs again, then says, "Well, you leave for school in five minutes, so they better get over it soon enough." She tosses me a set of keys. "Take the Lamborghini today."

I narrow my eyes suspiciously. "I'm not sure I want Scythe to pummel me..."

Mother rolls her eyes. "He wouldn't be able to pummel you. Sure, he's strong, but, and no offense to him, I sometimes worry if anything goes on in that head of his."

I can't help but chuckle at that. "Yeah, I don't think anything can get around that ego of his."

Mother laughs. "I'll take care of it. Besides, if he wants the Lamborghini, he can get up here faster." She assures me, then heads back into the kitchen.

I head up to my room to grab my messenger bag before going back down. I just reach the garage door when I hear, "Where are the keys to the Lamborghini?!"

That's reason enough for me to go a little faster. Hopefully, I'll be able to get down the driveway before he realizes I have the keys. I walk to the sleek black car, glad to finally get it for once. Usually, I get the Mustang, Shadow the GTO, and Scythe the Lamborghini. I have to admit, it's nice having a rich family. Even if you don't particularly like the job that make your parents so rich.

By the time I get to school, I have five minutes left until the bell rings, signaling the beginning of school. Good. Now to fight my way through the hordes of teens to get to my locker. I find myself wishing my locker wasn't on the other side of the school as I pass my first class- which is right beside the student parking lot. But this is my life, so I just _have_ to go all the way across the school just to come back. Not to complain. Just stating a very unfortunate fact.

You know what's also unfortunate? The fact that I was _thisclose _to my first class when I realized I had forgotten something. And, because this is my life, I had to trek _all the way_ across the _entire freaking school campus_ back to my locker, and by that point, because the world just _loves_ me, the late bell rang. Yeah. Universe, I feel so loved. So could you, you know, tone down the love a little? Thanks.

So, figuring there wasn't much point, I went ahead and walked. No way I was going to run to class when it was already too late to get there on time.

When I made it to class, Mrs. Wren didn't even bother turning from the board as she started in a chiding tone, "Ms. Ride, you're late agai- Oh. Sorry, Mr. Masters." She cuts herself off as she sees me. "I'm so used to Ms. Ride being the late one. I'll let it slide since this is your first time to be late. Don't let it happen again." Mrs. Wren warns.

"Will do." I mutter before striding to my seat in the back of the room. I know what you're thinking. Why in the world would Fang Masters, the guy who's secretly training to be an assassin, be all goody-goody and never have been late? Well, you see, I'm not exactly someone who likes attention. So I avoid it. At all costs. Therefore, getting to class on time= no one staring at me as I walk to my seat. Well, besides the normal fangirls, but that's not the point. See my reasoning?

A few seconds later, the real Ms. Ride slams through the door. Mrs. Wren just sighs, "Sit down, Max. I'm sure no one wants to hear whatever excuse you came up with today."

Max gives a smirk and answers, "Got it," while sliding into the only open seat. Guess where this open seat was?

If you guessed by me, I'm afraid you're wrong! Sorry, all of you hopeless romantics out there. But I had you going, didn't I? I scoff at you for thinking my life would be that cliché.

But I bet you'd never guess what happens after class. No, we do not bump into each other, then as we both reach down to pick up the book that would have inexplicably fallen onto the floor from Max's hands, we look up into each others eyes and immediately fall in love.

Haha, _no_. Sure, we did bump into each other, but, because this is _my_ life, her arm flings out and hits me right in the gut.

"Oh. Eh... sorry, reflex." She says awkwardly with a nervous laugh, brown eyes falling to look at her shoes.

Since I am slightly amazed at the fact that I in fact wasn't able to use my ninja reflexes to catch her arm before she hit me, I manage to say, "'s fine."

"Wow, you're quite the talker." She deadpans. "And really, it was your fault for bumping into me in the first place, so why did I even apologize?" She says, her voice quiet as if talking to herself. "Stupid, stupid, stupid..." Max walks away mumbling, pushing her light brown hair out of her face.

I just chuckle, readjust the strap of my messenger bag, and walk off in the opposite direction.

* * *

**So... What do you guys think?**

**May you keep a strong heart and a steady mind, **

**-KaiAmazonKnightley**


	3. Mr Drama Queen

**If you know about the anime Heart no Kuni no Alice, you're awesome and you need to PM me so we can have a long discussion on it. Just sayin'.**

**And the song for this chapter is Drama Queen by Family Force Five.**

Chapter Three

Max POV

As I walk away from Fang, I hear Iggy exclaim, "Is Fang Masters _laughing_?! Oh. My. Gosh." Iggy starts walking toward me. "MAX! The world is ending!"

I sigh at Iggy's antics, shaking my head, all the while mentally facepalming. I don't have to look behind me to know that Fang is probably giving Iggy a pretty weird look right now.

"Max!" I hear a familiar voice whine. "What happened to what you were wearing before?" Ella asks, walking beside me.

"Um... Iggy blew the shirt up, so I had to wear my hoodie instead?" I try.

Ella rolls her brown eyes. "I'm not even going to ask."

"I did not! How dare you accuse me of such a... a... preposterous thing!" Iggy exclaims indignantly.

"That was four syllables. Don't hurt yourself." Gazzy teases, turning to walk backwards in front of us.

I can't help but roll my eyes, stopping by my locker. Gazzy, Iggy, and Ella all stop at the lockers immediately to my right. Okay, so maybe I pulled some strings to get us to have our lockers beside each other, but, oh, well. It's amazing how far blackmail can get you these days. And Angel may or may not have come up with the entire thing. Devious little child.

Without thinking, I turn the dial on my locker, jiggle the handle, and it opens. Ella doesn't even have to jiggle hers. Iggy gets his to swing open easily.

Then there's Gazzy. After failing to open his locker for a few seconds, he just hits it. The rest of us don't even flinch at the loud sound it creates- we're used to it. Everyone else in the hallway, not so much.

"Got it." Gazzy mumbles sheepishly, causing me to erupt in the laughter I've been attempting to hold back ever since nearly everyone else in the hall jumped or shrieked a little at the sound of crunching metal from Gazzy's locker. Pretty soon, Iggy joins in, too. Only, he points and laughs.

"Iggy, don't be mean." Ella chides, slapping his hand.

"Oh, come on. You know you wanted to laugh, too!" Iggy accuses.

Ella rolls her eyes again before quickly exchanging her books and turning, dark brown hair bouncing as she starts walking away. Iggy does the same and takes long strides to catch up with her. They quietly exchange retorts for a few seconds before Iggy sweeps Ella off her feet- Literally. I chuckle as she shrieks at Iggy to put her down, her books tumbling to the floor.

"Those two are crazy for each other." Gazzy states beside me.

We exchange a glance, then get mischievous grins on out faces. "Perfect blackmail material." I say evilly, adding an equally evil chuckle for effect.

*****/\/\ A ╕ Î A*****

"I'm free!" Iggy shouts right after the bell rings, jumping up from his seat and running out of Math.

It's safe to say he's not a big fan of math, unless it somehow has to do with bombs. That, and he really likes his next class.

"Why is he so happy?" My friend, Layla, asks me, walking beside me through the crowded hall.

"Drama Queen over there has drama next." I explain.

"It's Mr. Drama Queen, to you!" Iggy corrects in mock offense.

"Did Iggy just call himself a drama queen?" Ella asks.

"Somehow, I'm not surprised." Gazzy inputs, merging with our little group.

Layla laughs, smiling brightly at Gazzy while twirling a lock of almost-black hair around her finger. It's safe to say she's had a crush on him since fifth grade. Just don't tell her I told you. Layla would go all rabid on me and bite my head off. She get's violent easily. It's scary.

She then focuses her sterling grey eyes on me. "Anyway. So, there's this party that would be really cool if you could come to this Friday?" She says hopefully, her words sounding for like a question.

"And why exactly would I be interested?" I drawl.

"Because the Masters brothers will be there!" She informs me, practically bouncing with excitement. I give her my 'I fail to see your point' look, causing her sigh exasperatedly. "And we all know the you have a crush on Fang."

I stop, giving her a 'what the mess' look. I've been giving her a lot of looks lately. Then, get this, I burst into loud, uncontrollable laughter. The idea is just so ridiculous! "Excuse me while I die of laughter!" I choke out between fits of laughter.

Iggy rolls his eyes, then throws an arm around my shoulder. "Max, Max, Max." He starts in a long-suffering tone.

I stop laughing and glare at him. "You want to keep that arm?" I ask darkly.

"Yes."

"Then get it away from me."

Iggy's arm drops from my shoulders, but he continues. "We all know this little fact. No matter how much you deny it, we all know it's true."

"I do not like Fang!" I insist.

"You know what the longest river in the world is, right?"

I'm caught off guard by the sudden change in subject.

"Denial." Iggy, Gazzy, Ella, and Layla all chime at the same time.

"'Kay, guys. That's just creepy." I answer.

"What is?" They ask at the same time. Again.

"That! Just... stop the whole... talking at the same time, thing!" I manage to stutter out whilst trying to find the right words. Look at me. Maximum Ride, queen of words and comebacks. I'm loosing my touch. Wow. That actually hurt to think. Like, physical pain.. I mean, ouch.

"So, they are announcing who gets what part of the play they are doing this year." Iggy says conversationally.

"It's Heart no Kuni no Alice, right? The Japanese version of Alice in Wonderland, only... in English. It'd be hard to remember our lines if they were in Japanese..." Layla mini-rants.

Iggy chuckles. "Max should get the part of Blood."

Blood. Referring to the leader of the Mafia. "Oh, you're hilarious." I deadpan.

"No, Blood is a guy, and, though Max is a tomboy, it just wouldn't work." Layla conveys her opinion. She, of course, doesn't get the little joke behind what Iggy said. Layla is my only friend that I've kept from the Mafia. Or, moreover, kept the Mafia from her. So, she doesn't get that Blood, the Mafia leader in the play/anime/manga, is like me in that, well, we're both Mafia leaders.

I hope that didn't confuse you too much.

"I'm trying to decide whether or not I should be offended." I open the door to the drama room and make my way in. Everyone follows, me holding the door open.

"Hey, Iggy, isn't this your job? You know, as the gentleman?" Layla asks.

"Why not Gazzy? Why just me? You guys are always picking on me!" Iggy whines. Then he stops, looking at Layla's ear. Hey, he's good, but he's not perfect. "Isn't that sexist?"

*****/\/\ A ╕ Î A*****

When the bell rings, the drama teacher is right in the middle of showing us how to put emotion into our lines. She stops, looking annoyed as the bell continues to buzz on, eye twitching at being interrupted. "Okay, guys. School's over. Get out of here."

With that, everyone scatters, grabbing possessions(Pretty much everyone), talking(Gazzy and Layla), arguing(Me and Ella), over dramatically yelling at inanimate objects for being in his way(Iggy). Pretty soon, we're walking across the student parking lot, walking around groups of students loitering around cars, stopping for moving cars, and laughing at the annoyed look of Fang and Shadow's faces as they shoo fangirls from their cars.

Oh, how fun life can be. Operative words being 'can be.' But life happens to hate human beings most the time. I blame Iggy. Why? I don't know. It's just fun to blame him.

Moving on.

Layla and the rest of us part ways as she stops by her beloved car- a cherry red Honda HSC. Honestly, it's a nice car. But, hey, I wouldn't trade my '72 mustang convertible for anything.

Speaking of my '72 mustang convertible, we are piling in now. Ella goes with Layla, (something about hanging out at the *shudders* mall) and Gazzy, Iggy, and I take positions much like that of this morning- Me driving, Iggy in the passengers seat, Gazzy in the back.

Only, this time, Iggy's his usual happy, mentally-insane self.

After stopping by the middle school to get Angel, we head to the pyro twins house, the two of them arguing about something along the lines of "But if we add too much sulfur, the explosion will be too big."

"My dear guppy, there's no such thing as a too big explosion."

"Iggy, you can't even see it. And that is terrible grammar."

"Oh, so now you're the grammar police, eh?"

"What? No, just- Whatever. The explosion will be too big. The neighbors will definitely notice then."

"Then add more bromine."

"That wouldn't work, though."

"Then destract the neighbors."

"I'm pretty sure they'd notice a gaping hole in our house."

"In that case, Mom and Dad would, too."

"Yeah, you'd have to be, well, you not to notice something like that."

"Hey! It's because I'm blind, isn't it!"

"No, it's just that you can be a little slow at times."

"You just hate me 'cause I'm black."

"Iggy, you are the complete opposite of black. You're paper white."

"You are so racist!"

"You started it!"

"No, you did!"

"What is the matter with you, Iggy? You obviously started it!"

"Nuh-uh!"

"Uh-huh!"

"Nuh-uh!"

"Uh-huh!"

"Nuh-uh!"

"Uh-huh!"

"Nuh-uh!"

"Uh-huh!"

"Uh-huh!"

"Nuh-uh!"

"Ha, so you admit it!"

"That's not fair, and you admitted it first!"

"Well you started it first!"

Okay. I really have to do something now.

"Well, I'm going to end it first!"

Huh. Looks like Angel beat me to it.

The two pyros turn to look at her, with her arms crossed and a highly annoyed look on her face. I've trained her well.

"You two are so immature! And that's coming from someone four years younger than you." Angel points out. She just makes me so proud.

"Well, the two of you can continue your argument inside your own house. And... just _try_ not to do anything illegal." I plead. The twins both nod their assent and run to their house.

They are such a handful. I'm surprised I've put up with them for this long.

"So, Angel. Want to help me find Mom's hiding place for the cookies this week?" I ask as we pull into the driveway of the Martinez/Ride residence. Long story, best saved for a later date.

Angel grins evilly. "Oh, yeah."

* * *

**If you seriously read all of those "Nuh-uh, Uh-huh"'s individually, I applaud you. **

**Anyway. I hope you guys liked it. And sorry for taking so long. I haven't been able to get the computer for awhile. Seriously. It's one in the morning. You'd better be happy I love you guys, don't have school tomorrow, and my family are heavy sleepers. Oh, and my insomnia driving me to doing something.**

**Yeah. I'm the only light sleeper. If my three year old brother whimpers, I wake up. And he's across the hallway, through two closed doors. Which is why I sleep with my Ipod playing, or else I'd wake up when someone in a different room so much as shifted positions. Okay, so, maybe not that extreme, but still.**

**Anyway, may you keep a strong heart and a steady mind,**

**-KaiAmazonKnightley**


	4. CHAOS

**Hai forum. We're baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack! Okay, okay, I know it's been a while since you've heard from us. That's my fault. You can blame gravity. That's what I do. So, SCREW YOU GRAVITY. Say it with me. Come on, you know you want to. No? Then be that way. See if I care. *sniffle* I believe that is it. Bai, forum. **  
** -Anonymous**

**Song of the chapter is Irreversible by I Am Alpha and Omega.**

**If you don't like screamo, I'd suggest... Um... *Goes through IPod* Okay, well... you can listen to lullaby's in different languages and violin solos... um... That's pretty much all I have that isn't screamo. Wait... Falling Further by Spoken. At least, I _think_ that doesn't have any screamo in it... Eh, oh well.**

* * *

Chapter Four

Fang POV

The bell could not have rang soon enough. Thanking God that the torture otherwise known as school is over, I quickly stand and start on my way off of campus, weaving between groups of students, hoping my fangirls don't notice me. As always, the little mantra going on inside my head fails, and a squeal sounds behind me. I have a total of three point five seconds to brace myself before I'm pretty much attacked by eight different girls, all with their annoying squeals and giggles. Oh, how I hate it. Seriously. If hate was an energy source, I'd be able to power all of America for four years with my hate for squeals, and giggles, and high-pitched voices alone.

The horror.

"Fang! It's so great to see you!"

Like you don't see me EVERY. FREAKING. DAY.

"Like, OMG, I'm so glad I can talk to you!"

You call that squeaking thing vaguely resembling human speech talking?

"How are you, Fang?"

I was better when you were across the school campus, thanks for asking.

"Fangy!"

Fangy? Really? That has got to be one of the stupidest nicknames I have ever heard.

"I saw you answer that question in history today. You are so smart!"

I answered the question of whether or not we had been over something yet. It was one word.

"So, how about we go out this Friday?"

How about we don't?

Really, you'd think my silence would be answer enough. But they just don't _get it. _I desperately want to shout, "I do not like you, go away!" But instead, I simply push past them, face carefully blank.

And what should I see the second I lay my eyes upon my car? If you guessed a horde of even more fangirls, you are correct. If you guessed a taco... I can only wish. Maybe pizza would be better, though... Hm.

If you saw the insanely creepy smiles on those girls faces when they saw me... you'd probably have nightmares. Fighting a sigh(That would be a sign of giving in. We don't want that.) I attempt to ignore them and move one of the girls out of my way so I can get in my car.

"Okay, now that you've successfully stalked him for the day, you can go."

Well, I certainly know that voice.

look up though the window at the girl. "Lissa." I greet.

She smiles and tilts her head to the side, long red hair falling over her shoulder. "Fang. I'm so glad you know my name." I roll my eyes at her words. "Anyway, how's my least favorite fellow student?"

"How am I what? You'll have to be more specific than that." Now it's her turn to roll her eyes.

"Still stupid as ever, I see."

"That's Scythe's job. Seriously, though, what do you want?"

"My mother told me to tell you to tell your parents that your brother owe CHAOS some amount of money to repair the damages they caused during one of their stupid little arguments." Lissa informs me.

Let me explain something to you readers who have a rather funny confused look on your face. You see, Lissa's mother is CHAOS's treasurer. Lissa has ended up in over 75% of my classes since we were both forced to join due to our parents working there when we were both five. The two of us have had an over-competitive streak against each other until since the first time we were pitted against each other in one of the spars when we were seven. That spar ended up in a tie. We've been trying to one-up each other ever since. So, yeah. We hate each others' guts. But... we don't at the same time. Yeah, it's confusing.

Back to the present moment.

"So the usual, hm?"

"Yup." Lissa answers before flipping her hair and walking off. "By the way, I hacked into the school's grade system. I made a higher score on Mrs. Mendoza's test than you!" She calls over her shoulder before joining up with some of her friends.

"Really?" I mutter before driving off. Actually, I lied. Like you can just drive off in a student parking lot. Oh, no. Besides maneuvering around cars, idiots standing in the middle of the parking lot, and other drivers who really,_ really_ shouldn't have passed their drivers test, you also have to deal with people honking at their friends that they _just_ saw not _three minutes ago!_

But you know what? Let's just say I drove off without a hitch. Yeah. That's easier._ By a lot.  
_

So, skipping a long, boring, aggravating drive, I arrived home. A few unneeded details later, (including getting a rather large snack, watching Scythe and Shadow argue, and nearly being attacked by Scythe(He's not happy with me for some reason... I'm too lazy to find out this time.)) I am arriving at CHAOS. Yay!

Not.

Of course, Scythe immediately feels the need to disappear and try to find his girlfriend of the week, so it's just Shadow and I walking through the huge stone corridors of the underground lair-ish-type-thingy.

It also happens to be just me to witness a very funny, very embarrassing scene involving my dear brother.

A scene of which begins with a tall girl with white-blonde hair with a natural red streak right above her left temple and grey eyes. A girl that is currently very, extremely angry with Shadow.

You may start cackling evilly now.

The girl, otherwise known as Mira, looks up from her instructions to a younger student and sees the two of us. Mainly Shadow. Her eyes narrow and she marches out of the room, a rage in her eyes that would normally be pretty intimidating, but is just funny. To me, at least.

"SHADOW!" She yells.

The boy in question subtly leans closer to me. "Fang?"

"Mhm?"

"Have you ever wanted to just curl up in the fetal position in fear and just hope you won't get the mess beaten out of you?"

I shake my head slowly. "... No, I can't think of a time that ever happened."

"Really?"

I nod. Then step to the left. Why? Because it's about that moment the Shadow is tackled by aforementioned angry girl.

Feel free to start laughing at Shadow's terrible luck.

"_MIRA! I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT_!"

I chuckle at Shadow's words- yells, really,- as I make my way into the main room. You see, CHAOS is built in a circle. You enter at a very small shop-like place in the middle of no where, and then go through this secret entrance disguised as a book case. Yeah, I think they could have been a_ little_ more original. This secret room is actually an elevator. So, you go down the elevator and into of the main halls on the outside of the circle. The main halls are set like the spokes of a wheel, going from the center out. Along these halls are doors, which lead to rooms. Some are class rooms, some are training rooms, some are simulation rooms, some are even dorms. This place is huge. Each classroom is easily twice the size of a normal school room, unless it's for minor subjects. Down each hall are classrooms groups for different stages. Like grades, for you normal people out there. Only, we go by skills and "prestige" rather than age and whether you have all A's or are a strait D student.

Now, most of this place is made up of stone. So... it's like a giant, underground, high-tech medieval castle. Pretty awesome, right? Because our tech people are freaking hackers and inventors, we have top-grade technology. And lightning speed WiFi. Bonus.

Gosh, it takes so much to explain CHAOS to normal mortals.

Anyway, when you first get here, you'll go strait down the hall and to the Main Room. Which is actually a ring around the Center Auditorium, which can hold over one thousand people comfortably. This ring has huge desks set up against the wall to the CA(Center Auditorium). These desks pretty much make up CHAOS equivalent to a high school office, complete with the mean secretaries, the single nice one that everyone loves, and that one that hates everything and really makes you question whether kindness actually exists. But, that's not where you head. Instead, you go to little stations set up along the outer wall of the ring. Once at this station, you enter your name and CHAOS ID, then get a little schedule that tells you where to be. It has the same general order, but there are a few classes that change. Like, you may have archery practice one day, then a simulation room the next.

I bet you're asking, "What's a Simulation Room?"

A SR is a giant room about the size of a two bedroom house with completely white walls. It has an entry room, usually with windows letting you see the Simulation part of the room, and monitors. Enter your name and CHAOS ID again, then step inside the blindingly white room. This room begins to morph around you and generally become a whole new place, complete with characters, settings, and random objects you can use. It's pretty much a really awesome video game. That you get to live. So, you go in there, try to survive, beat up a bunch of goons, and when you "die" or your time runs out, the area around you dissolves and you are once again in an extremely boring white room. Fun, right? The thing is, you can feel everything. It pretty much messes with your senses. You can touch a 'tree' and feel the bark underneath your hand. You can get shot and feel the pain within you. It's all fake, yet the lies are weaved so tight you're ricked into thinking that it's real. That it's all there, right in front of you. And I hate it.

A lot.

I prefer things to be real.

When I get my schedule, I see something odd on my list.

**1. Advanced Prestige Missions' Planning**

***2. Advanced Prestige Archery**

**3. Advanced Prestige Assassination Training**

**4. Advanced Prestige Running Track**

***Report to Missions Expo for a meeting before  
going to Second Class**

I guess I'm getting another training mission. Even though I completed my ten for this year. Odd.

* * *

**Greetings, Mortals. It's great to be writing this story again. And as for what I blame, it's Iggy. Why? I don't know. It's just fun to blame Iggy.**

**Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed. And next, we'll have Max explaining more of the Mafia. Yayness! Also, review.**

**We love reviews.**

**Thank you, Anonymous. **

**By the way, me, Kai, is over here. Anonymous is over...**

**Here.**

**May you keep a strong heart and a steady mind,**

**-KaiAmazonKnightley**


End file.
